After many parts had a brief respite from substantial rainfall in January: February is shaping up to be a wet month. Areas in the east of the UK in particular have already had more than their normal (1961-90 average) month's total. The UK is still feeling the effects of a record breaking Autumn 2000. Full aquifers and saturated soils mean there is nowhere for the rainfall to go but into rivers, leading to further flooding in the worst hit areas.

Kent has been amongst the worst affected. The county has received more than 160 % of its normal February total in the first 8 days. Totals (millimetres) from Met Office stations in the county are shown below. Much of the rain fell during the 12 hours ending 0900 UTC on 8 February.

These maps show the extent of the rainfall over the UK for February 2001 so far:

Rainfall in millimetres that has fallen between 1 - 8 February.

Rainfall expressed as a percentage of the average month's rainfall amount.